If you’re waiting for your work to speak for itself, you might be waiting for a long time.
This is the uncomfortable truth that many emerging founders wrestle with, especially those raised to believe that humility means silence. But in today’s noisy, fast-paced world, staying quiet doesn’t make you noble. It makes you invisible.
Why We Hold Back
Self-promotion has a bit of a PR problem. It’s often mislabelled as arrogance, attention-seeking or desperation. We tell ourselves we don’t want to be “that person”, the one constantly posting on LinkedIn, endlessly posting wins, sharing every client testimonial or media mention.
But here’s what’s really going on.
Many of us don’t promote ourselves because we’re afraid. Afraid of being judged. Afraid of not being good enough. Afraid of crickets when we finally do speak up. So, we convince ourselves it’s better to let our work do the talking, when that’s a convenient excuse to hide.
This mindset holds so many brilliant people back. It used to hold me back until I literally had no choice but to get out of my head and get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
The Shift I Had to Make
Early in my career, when I was working in agencies, I struggled with this a lot. I wanted recognition, but I didn’t want to ask for it. I assumed good work alone would be enough. But I noticed that the people getting ahead, getting promotions, getting pay rises and getting invited to new business pitches were often not the most talented. They were just the most visible.
The day I had to leave my job and think of a plan to get out of the rut I was in changed how I approached everything.
The day I started treating my visibility like part of the job, not an optional extra, everything shifted. I stopped waiting for permission. I stopped downplaying wins. I stopped being too insecure to promote myself. And the opportunities that followed weren’t luck, they were a direct result of being seen and heard.
Why Self-Promotion Is Not Optional
Whether you’re building a consultancy, launching a side project or levelling up in your business, visibility matters. People can’t buy from you, refer you, collaborate with you or champion you if they don’t know what you do or what you stand for.
And in a crowded market, the loudest voice isn’t always the best, but it is the one that gets remembered as long as you can back it up. The aim is to build visibility and credibility.
Here’s what self-promotion really is:
- It’s clarity about what you offer.
- It’s storytelling with purpose.
- It’s advocacy for your values.
You’re not asking for applause for the work; all you’re doing is creating awareness.
You’re Not Bragging, You’re Educating
One of the easiest reframes I share with clients is this: if you don’t share your work, you’re doing your audience a disservice. How else will they know how you can help them? Or the results you’re capable of delivering?
If someone can solve a problem for you, wouldn’t you want to know about it immediately? That’s the power of positioning yourself as the solution.
Let your audience in on the process, not just the outcome. Share the behind-the-scenes, build in public, and highlight the learnings and the mindset shifts. It builds trust, relatability and connection, which is exactly what a strong personal brand is built on.
Build Self-Promotion Into Your Daily Practice
Here’s how to make self-promotion feel less uncomfortable and more natural:
1. Share something new every day for 30 days:
Create an accountability group that you can work together with that has the same ambitions and start posting. This might be a lesson, a client win, a thought-provoking question or a story from your journey. You don’t need to go viral. You just need to be consistent.
2. Have go-to formats:
A blog post, a carousel, a case study. A screenshot with context. Rotate these so it’s not always the same and track the data to see what your audience likes the most.
3. Focus on value, not vanity:
Every post should help, teach or inspire someone. That’s the goal. Keep your audience in mind and lead with relevance.
4. Keep receipts:
Screenshots of kind words, results or emails go a long way. Build a “brag bank” so you can refer back when writing case studies or crafting content.
5. Celebrate often, and unapologetically:
You worked hard. Let people know. If you don’t champion your wins, why would anyone else?
Moving Forward
Self-promotion isn’t about ego, it’s about ownership. It’s about making your work easier to discover, your voice easier to remember, and your impact easier to recognise.
I completely understand how uncomfortable it feels, but that can be your breakthrough, but you won’t know if you don’t try
So, stop waiting. Start showing up. And remember, visibility isn’t vanity, it’s value!
See you next week!
